The number of new coronavirus cases continued to surge in Brighton and Hove in the lead up to Christmas, according to official figures.
There were 3,718 new cases of covid-19 in the seven days to last Monday (20 December) – or more than 500 a day.
The figure was up from 2,109 – or 300 a day – just a week earlier.
The rate of infections was 1,274 for every 100,000 people, up from 723 in the previous seven days.
On Thursday (23 December) there was a total of 27 patients in the Royal Sussex County Hospital, in Brighton, with the virus – and none in the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital.
Of those in the Royal Sussex, five or fewer were in intensive care or high dependency beds.
There had been 16 deaths in the eight weeks to Friday 10 December – or two a week – with covid-19 mentioned on their death certificate.
Since early November the number of people with symptoms taking a covid test has almost doubled from under 12,000 a week to more than 20,000.
About 75 per cent of the eligible population in Brighton and Hove has had a first coronavirus vaccination, while 68.9 per cent have had a second jab.
Some 41.7 per cent have had a booster, with a huge rise – from about a third – in the week before Christmas.
The figures are below the national averages, with 89.5 per cent having had a first dose in the UK, 81.8 per cent a second jab and 50.4 per cent a booster.
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson was reported to have had a briefing earlier today (Monday 27 December) on the latest figures nationally, given the rapid spread of the omicron strain.
The Press Association (PA) said that he was not expected to announce further restrictions in England after hearing about the pressure on hospitals and the current number of covid infections.
In what was described as an internal government meeting, the Prime Minister was due to be talked through the latest data by the chief medical officer for England, Chris Whitty, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientific adviser.
The PA news agency said that no announcement was expected to come out of the meeting, leaving England at odds with other parts of the UK, where post-Christmas restrictions have been introduced.
